For several years now, downtown Poulsbo has been a victim of its own success. And while many of the storefront signs in the popular district seem to change with the seasons, there is one constant — a severe lack of parking.

The city has discussed everything from parking garages to improved transit options in an effort to rectify the problem, which was highlighted Wednesday when a taxi service was declined its request for a single spot. City council promised to look into the issue further but seeing as the group, which has seen quite a bit of turnover itself since the dilemma began, hasn’t uncovered a viable solution yet it is unlikely that one will magically appear anytime soon.

But as the Historic Downtown Poulsbo Association continues to bring up the parking problems, one of the obvious questions is: Where do the business owners and employees park now? Third Avenue? Jensen Way? Anderson Parkway? King Olaf?

Certainly none or very few park on Front Street but the fact that many do so in the immediate vicinity doesn’t help the situation that they are trying so hard to fix. How many HDPA members carpool? How many are parking further than three blocks from Front Street? For that matter, where do all the city employees park?

If this city truly seeks to put together downtown’s parking puzzle, it must realize that it has the pieces to do so but must create a viable place in which to put them. Surely there are other lots that city and downtown employees can use. It now becomes a question of how many are willing to walk to work and how far?